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tv   News  Al Jazeera  December 22, 2015 11:00pm-11:31pm EST

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good evening, everyone. thanks for joining us. i'd adam may. this is al jazeera america. the battle for ramadi, iraqi troops try to take back that key city from i.s.i.l. with help in the form of american air power. a milestone, the dangerous journey to europe claims even more lives as advocates say that american a million people have reached the area.
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a policy to allow gay men to give blood is said to still be discriminatory. a major offensive is underway right now in iraq in the fight against i.s.i.l. iraqi troops are attempting to regain control of the key city of ramadi. i.s.i.l. took ramadi back in may and it was a very embarrassing defeat for the iraqi military, but now they're trying to reverse that with the help of u.s. air power. al jazeera's jamie macintyre has more for us from the pepto gone >> reporter: after months of planning and training, iraq's offensive to take back ramadi is ready to go. i.s.i.l.'s days of ruling ramadi are numbered, possibly in the single digits.
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employing a bridge like this, the forces forded the river and they faced methodical house to house combat against i.s.i.l. fighters. back in may i.s.i.l. took ramadi with shocking ease, routing a force of nearly 20,000 battle-weary offenders with just over one thousand attackers. months of coalition bombing and low level ground attacks have whittled the i.s.i.l. fighters down to 350 or fewer. while the iraqi assault force numbers over 10,000. and is backed by u.s. air power which has been relentlessly pounding i.s.i.l. positions killing hundreds of i.s.i.l. fighters according to the u.s. military spokesman in baghdad >> i think the fall of ramadi is inevitable. the end is coming, but that's said it is going to be a tough fight. >> reporter: for months iraqi forces executing a plan drafted
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by the u.s. have been slowly surrounding ramadi cutting off supply lines. for u.s. commanders the pace of the campaign has been slow, especially since the iraqi government prime minister has refused to accept help in the form of u.s. attack helicopters that could provide air cover in tight urban terrain >> it is hard to inflict support on somebody. so we try to provide support and like i said the kind of support we provide has to be consistent with the way the iraqi security forces fight >> reporter: iraq have taken one piece of u.s. advice and kept shia militias out of force which will retake and take ramadi a largely sunni city. they have been trained by soon eaus who will patrol the city.
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>> it has been set for the full liberation of ramadi and we're doing everything we can to expedite the completion of that operation. i remain very optimistic. >> reporter: the pepto gone has called ramadi a crucial test for iraqi forces. at the this can push i.s.i.l. out of the city just an hour's drive from the iraqi capital of baghdad, it won't just be a huge psychological victory, but a large model for the stronghold of mosul in northern iraq thank you. u.s. army sergeant bowe bergdahl was arraigned today at a military court. he is charged with desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy. he spent five years in taliban custody after walking away from his base in afghanistan. he was released in a prisoner swap in 2014. he did not enter a plea during the hearing. he is facing life in prison if
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he is convicted. the next pre-tile hearing is coming up on january 12. to europe and another deadly ending for refugees searching to a new home. the turkish news agency reports that 11 people died when a boat sank near the western coast. seven people were rescued, but officials still don't know how many people in total were on board when the boat sank. this comes as the international organization for migration says that the number of refugees reaching europe this year has now passed the one million mark. >> reporter: most refugees and migrants entering europe are arriving by sea. risking their lives in hopes of starting new lives. >> most of these people are fleeing war, fleeing for their lives, fleeing terrorism. it is a shocking reality >> reporter: they're fleeing in record numbers. more than one million so far
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this year >> this is three to four times as many migrants coming north as in the year 2014. the deaths have already passed the deaths from last year >> reporter: the u.n. says about half of the refugees and migrants crossing into europe are syrians fleeing war. 20% are afghans and 7% iraq ease >> they're also coming across africa. not are all fleeing violence. some are fleeing climate change. people who can no loppinger grow crops on their land and can't var vive as a result. >> reporter: most refugees and migrants land in greece. many also aarrive in italy, bulgaria and spain. to put this influx into perspective, migration to turkey is even higher. the u.n. says more than two million syrian refugees are there >> more than one million have fled to lebanon. they make up a fourth of the
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country's total population. 600,000 are in jordan. many have lived in legal limbo without the right to work. some are heading to europe where governmentss are struggling to agree on aness spa the crisis. germany and sweden have welcomed the most. some countries have eau elected fences to deter them. the european union is pouring money into beefing up border security and next year the risks involved in trying to enter europe illegally are expected to grow. >> we may see lower numbers, but we may well see higher deaths. we have seen gnarl 4,000 people drowning and dying this year while trying to get to europe-- nearly newly released documents shows the san bernardino syed farook informed the u.s. government of a 2013 trip to saudi arabia. that letter was submitted to
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support his application to obtain a fiancee visa for tashfeen malik. he said they met on a website and got engaged. it is investigating how the visa was granted. another black eye for the people protecting obama. a secret service agent had his gun, portable radio, badge and some other items stolen from his personal vehicle in down town washington dc. the theft happened on monday, less than a block from the agency's headquarters. the secret service has been reeling from a series of embarrassing scandals and serious breaches in security in the last few years >> reporter: to injury gin i can't, a change to the gun laws. the city will not longer recognise concealed hand gun permits from 25 other states. people were permits from those states can carry a concealed
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weapon into virginia, but the attorney-general now says those states are giving permits to people who are barred from getting such a loans in virginia. it will take effect 1 february. the move is being criticised. the family of sandra bland is calling for criminal charges against the texas state trooper who arrested her. on monday a grand jury returned no criminal indictments in connection with bland's jail cell death back in january. we spoke to blondes's sister. she told us the prosecutors never have have shared details of the investigation with the family >> we strongly feel that the grand jury process as a whole is a problem because it is largely viewed as a tool for the prosecutors to really quell the public enragement that may come from certain high profile cases like this, but more than anything it's a tool for the prosecutors to cherry pick, not
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just the jury jurors, but the evidence that is presented. it is a process that we have an issue with the family has filed a wrongful death suit. a judge says the mall of america can prevent three leaders of the black lives matter unit from protesting at the mall tomorrow. demonstrato demonstrators are trying to call attention to the killing of jam al clarke. >> reporter: they are being told by the country's largest mall not to demonstrate on their property on wednesday. a judge was asked to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent a huge demonstration like the one last year where some stores had to shut down. the mall says that protest
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caused irreparable harm saying as a private retailer it prohibits all forms of protests, demonstration and public debate >> our country was built off of protest. protest is meant to make people feel uncomfortable. >> reporter: officials want protesters to delete and take down any online materials soliciting democrat straightors to gather at the mall. black lives matter protesters say that is not going to happen. they want to draw obtainings to this man killed by police. -- attention. they have been demonstrating for weeks demanding investigators to release the video of the shooting. authorities say they can't because it could interfere with ongoing state and federal investigations. an attorney for the maul say they don't take issue with the
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issue, but they don't want it happening two days before christmas after the state revealed it released inmates early. 3200 have been released early since 2002. a computer glitch miscalculated time they received for good about behaviour. the mistake was as little as a couple of days to as much as 600 days. some inmates may have to return to finish up their sentences. washington's governor says no more end dates until the glitch is fixed. the presidential campaign is getting very personal. donald trump is calling hillary clinton a lie yahr and today hillary clinton supporters are calling the billionaire vulgar >> obviously, how can i describe our leaders better than the word stupid.
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>> reporter: it was vintage donald trump in front of 10,000 people he attacked politicians and he hammered the pretty >> some of them are such lying, zufting people. -- disgusting people. >> reporter: he hit hard hillary clinton. >> is she broken? how crooked is she? >> reporter: he took some of his clinton barbs into new territory. he referred to a bathroom break in the last democratic debate >> we believe she will be coming around the corner any minute. >> sorry. >> i thought she quit. i thought she gave up. where did she go? i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. >> reporter: then the billionaire developer described her as a loser and pointed to her 2008 presidential race against obama.
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>> she was favoured to win and she got schlonged. >> reporter: the noun schlong is a term for mail genitalia. the verb means to hit somebody. either way, most people would describe its usage as vulgar. the clinton campaign reacted tuesday on twiters, spokesperson wrote: donald trump has repeatedly faced criticism over the language he has used to describe women. >> you call women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. >> reporter: after that first republican debate donald trump said of moderator megan kelly >> you could see blood coming out of her eyes and wherever >> reporter: even in the rally this week, he used arguably sexist language when he
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responded to a woman protester >> that's a very weak voice. a little louder. we can't hear you, darling >> reporter: on the latist clash on hillary clinton he comes from a different place. he has blasted her for making a false claim about him and i.s.i.l. >> he is becoming i.s.i.s.'s best recruiter. they are going to people showing road accident videos of donald trump insulting muslim. >> donald trump is on video and i.s.i.s. is using him on the video to recruit. it turned out to be a lie. she is a liar. >> reporter: and on that charge many republicans agree. to them hillary clinton is a figure to be despised. in other words, while some americans might describe donald trump's approach as degrading,
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for him this is the language of victory >> hillary is not a president cleaning up the river, inside the effort to clean up a river that runs through the nation's capital.
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tonight we're learning more about the sixth american service members killed in yesterday's suicide bombing in afghanistan. one was among the very first openly gay service members to get married. family and friends of air force major adriana posted condolences on her facebook page. she leaves behind a wife and a child. a law repealed a ban of openly gay people serving in the defense. we need to draw on every
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american regardless of sexual orientation. it was relegaled back in 2011. gay rights activists are reacting to the lifting of gay men donating blood. they say it still has a loophole. men would have sex with other men in the past 12 months still can't donate. >> i think it is really blatantly discriminatory. there is no justification for it. donald trump is all over the news. it reminds me a little bit of the donald trump situation calling for this drastic measure of a ban on all will yous limbs in order-- muslims in order to prevent what would be the entry or screening of some criminals. it is really an overkill. it is blatantly discriminatory. it violates civil rights the fda on the other hand
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says there is no data available showing it could allow for a shorter abstinance period and save lives at the same time. one river that flows right through the capital, if you've seen it, it has become a dumping ground. efforts are underway to try and change that, it is said that may not be enough. >> reporter: the anacostia river runs through some of the poorest areas in washington dc. the man who tests its sediment for toxic chemicals has a warning to those who take to the waters. >> don't fall in. >> reporter: this slow moving 14 kilometer shallow waterway is a particularly bad candidate for toxic dumping. city authorities have allowed rainwater to sweep in toxins from roads, military installation and others for a
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century. >> lots of chemicals, toxic metals, chlorine and dioxine. >> reporter: it is not just chemical run off but also raw sewerage. it reaches capacity on particularly rainy days. some seeps to the surface. the rest is dumped straight into dc's rivers. 49 billion liters of diluted human waste flows into the anacostia several times a year. >> on the other side of this air lock is a cutter wheel itself. >> reporter: when the tunnel is completed, it is hoped that 98% of the sewerage out flow will be diverted. property prices are rising as
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the risk from the river abaits. why did it take it so long to fix this up. >> it would be a shame if the communities who have been deprived of a clean river all of these years were pushed out and were not able to enjoy the benefits. there are already signs of that happening. >> reporter: it too so long, that new high model, using the old one using untreated sewerage will city flow when the tunnel is completed in 2025. toxic storm run off won't cease >> it won't be in the life time. they can't do any better than finishing by 2154.
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>> reporter: these measures only deal with the flow of policy utants into the river and not any clean up. there's no timeframe for that the effects go all the way to the cheser peak. we will along at how the weather could complicate your travel plans, depending on where you are. >> i feel so utterly alone. >> in this envelope is my life. >> if you don't go to college, you gonna be stuck here... i don't wanna be stuck here. >> catch the whole ground-breaking series, "edge of eighteen" marathon. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,
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and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around.
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a federal appeals court says trademarks offensive are still protected by the first amendment. a name refused to be registered was the slants. it barred the registration of offensive trademarks but the court struck down that law. simon tam talked about the case back in october. >> they are basically saying if people see our website and see the slants and they see a picture with asians in it, which would be us of course because we're the band, they're denying me rates based on my race this factualing to could
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affect the decision over the red skins. it is likely that the u.s. territory could default on debt that is due on january 1. the island commonwealth is scheduled to make a one billion dollar debt payment on new year's day and the government is deciding which bonds it will pay. they're trying to restructure its debt. n.a.s.a. has called off its next mission to mars because of an instrument malfunction. the insight spas craft was supposed to launch in march and then it was going to land on the red planet six months later. it has been scrubbed because of some air leaks. the windows for mars only occurs every two years. it could be in doubt permanently. millions of americans are taking to planes, trains, automobiles trying to get to their holiday designations this week. there are some severe weather
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here. >> reporter: we have a lot of weather to talk about over the next three days. first of all i want to talk about what is going to be happening as we go into wednesday morning. we do have a severe weather outbreak that is going to take place down here towards the south. where you see this area of red, we have the potential of torn a doughs-- tornados and high winds. into wednesday, a busy travel day, but the east coast of the united states is going to be wet. a lot of airports will accumulate delays as we go later into the day. that is also the day that we are going to be seeing some of our warmest temperatures. as we go towards christmas, things get better to the north east, but still very wet here across the mississippi river
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valley. memphi >> translation: s will see 71 and houston 81 degrees there. if you're looking for snow, it is not going to be a white christmas up here. you have to go out towards the west if you want to see snow america is moving south and west. data shows that southern and western states, including floor dar, north corolina and never add a-- nevada. 7 states lost residents. the u.s. population stands at more than 321 million people. that's the latest figures. wall street has seen its ups and downs, but not the harlem globe trotters. they did some slam dunks on the trading floor. they are celebrating their 90th
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anniversary this year. they are more predictable than of some our stocks. ray suarez next with the inside story you've been convicted of a crime and you've done your time, but when you fill out job applications, there it is, the box that asks have you ever been found guilty of a crime. the odds are pretty good you won't get the job if you tell the truth. ex-inmates say it would help if companies would ban the box and that would keep them out of jail.